Smuggling pumpkins

October 13, 2013

It’s an impossibly beautiful, crisp and sunny Chicago fall, my uterus is now the size of a pumpkin (how festive!), and the cooking strike in Casa DiCosola continues. Dinners these days consist of cinnamon toast crunch, apples and peanut butter, fun-size snickers, english muffins and string cheese (yes, all in one night; no, not necessarily in that order).

Good thing I have this little fall-themed gem of a post in my back pocket from last year. In a sea of pumpkin pies, pumpkin breads and pumpkin lattes, these pumpkin pork enchiladas are a refreshing change of pace.

3-4 cups shredded quesadilla cheese (I like La Chona brand, but anything in similar packaging will be good)

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Seasoned baked pumpkin seeds and queso fresco for garnish (optional)

Enchilada sauce

1/2 cup liquid from carnitas

1 cup pumpkin

1/8 tsp chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare your carnitas and harvest 1/2 cup juice toward the end of cooking. Set aside or refrigerate if you’re preparing in advance.

For the pumpkin filling, you can use the canned stuff or pie pumpkins. I went the difficult route because I’m fancy like that. If you’re inclined to do the same, cut the pumpkin in large chunks, remove the seeds, drizzle with a little butter or olive oil and bake, covered, at 375 degrees for about 45 min, or however long it takes for the pumpkin to be fork tender. After it cools, remove the meat and discard the skin.

Mash the pumpkin with the spices and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Prepare the enchilada sauce by combining all sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor. Set aside.

To assemble your enchiladas, place a dollop of the pumpkin mix in the middle of a corn tortilla and some carnitas on top, and roll up the tortilla. Place each enchilada seam-side down in a casserole dish. Arrange the enchiladas tightly in the pan so they don’t fall apart during baking. Once you’ve filled the pan, drizzle the sauce (and spread with a spatula if necessary) over the enchiladas and sprinkle generously with cheese.

Bake enchiladas at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes—until the cheese is bubbly and golden and the insides of enchiladas are hot.